Agony and Donuts
by valthestampede
Summary: Vash left his daughter with Milly after Meryl died. 18 years later she sets out to find her father. But what kind of man will she find? And what does Knives have to do with things?
1. Pain

**I don't own Trigun, or any characters from it, so the nice people who thought of it won't sue, right?**  
  
Pain  
  
A single gunshot. That was all it took to kill the world. A scream, a silence, the cry of the baby girl. And pain. The body fell softly to the earth. Blood seeped onto the ground, darkening the already dark blue hair. The violet eyes stared, unseeing, she was really dead. An unearthly scream of pain, and hate, and grief. More gunshots. More bodies fell. Crying. Desolate, alone. No. A moment of eloquent disbelief. No.   
  
The man fell onto his knees. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not… hate and fear rose up. A woman started crying now, she was dead. Why? Because he was dangerous. The wrong place at the wrong time. Protecting her child. The child.   
  
The child was crying. He took her in his arms, shaking. The child wasn't safe. No one was. He was a monster. No. Crying. Couldn't take anymore. Why? He was a monster. Had to get away. Why so much pain? Why do you hate me? Why was everyone who got close to him killed? He was a curse on the world. Better off dead.  
  
But it was she who was dead. Unfair. Violet eyes. He loved her eyes. So peaceful. But she couldn't look at him anymore. Never. He had taken her eternity away because he was a monster.   
  
The child in his arms. His child. Her child. He would take her eternity away too. No. That wouldn't happen. Ever. He had to protect her child. He went to the crying woman, placed the child in her arms. Had to let go, or she would die too. They would all die. The woman cradled the child.  
  
"Rem, your father will see you again."  
  
He left. Why? Because he was Vash the Stampede.   
  
  
**erm, i promise the next chapter will be happier. promise. anyway, click the little button that says review, and i'll love you forever. please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!** 


	2. Enter the Child

**i dont own trigun, or any of its characters, and i'm sure that the nice people who do have better things to do than sue me. Ok, this chapter is happier, so read on, and dont forget to review!**  
  
Enter the Child  
  
Eighteen years later...  
  
"I've finally found you, Vash the Stampede!!" Oh god, not again. Vash looked over his shoulder at the new bounty hunter. A huge man with two machine guns and a bazooka. Huh, interesting how he could carry all three. He cackled evily, and launched the bazooka at Vash. Wow, he was really serious. And mentally disturbed. Vash started running. This guy could cause some seious damage, and Vash was running low on ammo.   
  
He rounded a corner, and stopped. Great, the psycho had buddies. There were eight men armed to the teeth leering at him. They were probably mentally disturbed too. Vash screamed and ran through the men, leaving them a bit surprised. Dodging the inevitable hail of bullets he turned another corner and ran smack dab into a woman. She looked surprised, as she rightly should. It's not everyday you run directly into the most notorius outlaw on the entire planet. But this woman looked... happy to see him. That was odd. So odd, in fact, that he stopped to stare for a second, until he realized that the men were still chasing him. Crap.  
  
"Nyaow!" he said to the woman. Then he ran away. The woman smiled. He was just like Aunt Milly had said he would be. She watched as the bounty hunters ran by, a faint smile on her face, then went to help the red-cloaked figure.   
  
Vash turned, he would have to use his last ammo. He had to make every shot count. No problem there. Six shots were fired in rapid succession. Six of the men fell, unconscious. Vash reached into his pocket for another set of bullets. Crap. None left. And the last three men were still coming, including mental disturbee #1. He cackled evily again. "It looks like you're out of ammo, Va-" His sentence ended when someone hit him on the back of the head. The other two men fell in short order.  
  
This left only the woman Vash had seen before. "I've finally found you-" Great, another bounty huner. That's why she was so happy to see him. "-father."   
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
"What?"  
  
Vash was dumbstruck. Father? But that meant... "Rem?" She smiled again. "Rem, is it really you?!"  
  
She nodded, "Yes, it really is me. After I turned eighteen Aunt Milly told me to go look for you. I couldn't wait to meet you." she looked down. "Um... I hope it's not a bother."  
  
Vash launched himself at his daughter and swept her into a huge, happy, red hug. "Never! Oh, it's so good to see you. I waited so long. There's so much to talk about, we have to talk! I'm so happy! Nya ha ha ha ha!" Rem smiled. Milly had told her Vash would act like this, but she had had doubts. What if he really didn't like her?   
  
"Um, want to get some donuts while we talk?" Vash gasped. Uh-oh, I said something wrong, Rem thought.  
  
"You... you like donuts?" Vash looked excited. "YOU ARE TRULY MY DAUGHTER! Let us go get donuts!!!!"  
  
***  
  
Far away, Knives woke up. Quickly reaching with his mind to the nearest plant, he asked what could have possibly surprised him. So, Vash was with his daughter. Hmm, this was a perfect opportunity. He got up and put on traveling clothes. He had a long way to go, but it would be worth it.  
  
**See, happier. Hell, it might even be funny, I don't know. And notice the artful use of foreshadowing. Subtle, aint it?** 


	3. Donuts

**i don't own trigun. don't sue. anyway, i had major writer's block, so this isn't the greatest chapter, but oh well.**  
  
Donuts  
  
Rem mused over her fate of the past few days. She had left home, after a teaful fairwell to Aunt Milly, and set out to find her father. With help from rumors and the occaisional request for help from one of the plants, she had tracked Vash to December. After that, well, here they were, in a cafe, with a lot of donuts.  
  
Vash was alternating between talking and gulping down every last crumb of food in sight. And laughing. He had the most interesting laugh. Rem smiled, she was finally meeting her father. Milly had told her so much about him, almost all of it good. As if reading her thoughts, Vash asked, "So, exactly how is Milly doing?"  
  
Rem was surprised. He had been really going at those donuts, but still, how did he finish so quickly? "Um, well, she's fine. A while back we saved up enough money to buy a small farm, and she and the kids are working it with much vigor."  
  
Vash looked blank. "The... kids?"  
  
"Oh, yah, when I was six, we moved out to Mr. Wolfwood's orphanage, and Milly is taking care of the kids there."  
  
A sad look crossed her father's face. "Ah, yes, Wolfwood... A good friend, he was."  
  
"From what Milly says, he was a great man."  
  
"He was, even when Knives... but that's a different story. Would you like a donut?"  
  
He was back to his old self, but for a moment there had been intense pain on his face. Yes, Milly had said that. He hid his pain with antics and smiles. But something that he had said tore her attention away from his pain. "Knives. He's my uncle, right? What about him?"  
  
Another flicker of pain, then smiles. "Oh, I couldn't make him understand my point of view fully, so he's off tending a garden somewhere very secluded. He no longer wishes to come to the outside world."  
  
They talked into the night until the owner had to throw them out with a last box of donuts for the road. Which, as it turned out, wasn't very far. The hotel was only a block away. But Vash finished the donuts by the time they got there anyway.   
  
They had different rooms, and they were both tired, so they said their goodbyes and went to bed. Rem dropped off in a happy mood.  
  
***  
  
A few hours later:  
  
"I finally found you, Vash the Stampede!"  
  
"Nyaaaahhhhhhhh!!"  
  
Rem woke up quickly. Aunt Milly had warned her about this too. When traveling with Vash, always be ready to run. So she had prepared. She slipped into traveling clothes at the speed of light, grabbed her weapons, slung her small pack over her shoulder, and ran out, prepared for anything. Her father was speeding past her door, with three rather large men in hot pursuit. She wacked one of them upside the head, knocking him into the other two, and ran after Vash. She caught up with him outside the hotel and pulled him onto a nearby side street. She dragged him in a zig-zag path until she was fairly sure she had lost their pursuers.  
  
After catching her breath, she said, "Wow, glad that I was prepared, but I've heard of the impermanance of your stays anywhere." She glanced at him, to find him staring at her weapon.  
  
"Where... where did you get the cross-punisher?"  
  
"Oh, me and Aunt Milly found it... on a trip into the desert. She cried when she saw it. It belonged to Wolfwood didn't it?"  
  
"Y.. yes. Yes it did. Did you.. did you find anything else there."  
  
"Ummm, yes, actually. Um, but Aunt Milly told me not to show you, but I guess you can guess what we found. I mean, it's pretty easy to figure out, right?" She lifted aside her coat to show two long six shooters, one bright silver and one a darker onyx color. The color left Vash's face.   
  
"Have you, have you figured out to use them yet?"  
  
"Um, well, yes. One time when I was angry, I was target practicing, and I just heard a voice in my head. It said, let go... give into anger... activate the angel. And, I did. Everyone got really scared and no one would talk to me except Aunt Milly, so I never did it again."  
  
Vash looked, if it could be possible, even paler. "So.. my brother does know of your existence, he even knows where you are." Rem was puzzled. Knives? Her uncle? She was really confused, and said so. "It could only be his voice in your head. This could get very bad, if he decides you would be an adequate pawn in his little game. We made need to take action, fast."  
  
"Why would my uncle want me? And why do we have to take action?"  
  
"He would want you for your ability to use the angel arms. He created them so he could wipe out all humans, which he believes is his purpose. We may have to take action to keep you safe from him." His face lightened. "But in the meantime, it's almost breakfast time! What do you say to some donuts?"  
  
Rem stared at him, speechless. One moment dire prophecies, the next... donuts. She just nodded and followed him. They almost got to a bakery, too, until they were interupted by, "I finally found you, Vash the Stampede!!"  
  
Life sure had gotten interesting.  
  
*Ok, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but still not top par. Gomen for taking so long, too, but next chapter I can start advancing the plot a bit. Anyway, tell me how you feel. Was it A) awful B) Stupid C) Decent D) Funny E) Prickly, or F) All of the Above ? Tell me, I need feedback!!!!** 


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